Combined band saw and work support



y 1, 1951 A. L. HOFFMAN 2,551,268

COMBINED BAND SAW AND WORK SUPPORT Filed June 15, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet lBY M %n%% May l, 1951 A. L. HOFFMAN COMBINED BAND SAW AND WORK SUPPORT 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 15, 1948 May 1, 1951 A. 1.. HOFFMAN 2,551,263

COMBINED BAND SAW AND WORK SUPPORT Filed June 15, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 3y yiwzg m May 1, 1951 A. HOFFMAN 2,551,268

COMBINED BAND SAW AND WORK SUPPORT Filed June 15, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4A III; lllllllllnlllllltllllulllllll Patented May 1, 1951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 255L265 C M INED AN A D WQ K UPP T!- AlfredsL.HofEman,West Orange, NJ;

Application-June15, 1948 SerialNp. 33,0Q 4 Claims. (Cl. 14%17 Thisinvention relates in general to a combination of a band saw and a worksupport, and mere particularly to such a combination wherein the saw ismoved against the work instead of the work being fed against the saw.

One objectof theinvention isgtoprovidea combined. band saw and worksupport which shall embody novel and improved features of constructionsuch that the. saw can be moved by the operator in any desired.direction into. engagement w th the work. nd, wh reby t e co bi ationshall possess the advantages of a band. saw, a b nch saw. a d. i saAnother object is to provide; such a machine wherein the saw shall'be,rotatble through circu: lar paths of various diameters. andshallalso vbecapable of movementin straight lines or incomposite curvedlines atthewill of the operator.

A further object istoprovidea combination of the character describedwhich shall include a novel and improved work table andmeans vformounting it wherebythe work may be tilted. at various angles relative tosaw, for example to provide mitre cuts in planes oblique to. the generalplane .of theworlg.

Other objects, advantages, and. results ofthe invention will be broughtoutby the following description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which Figure 1 is a side-elevational view of a combined bandsaw and work support embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional View. approximately on the line 2-2of Figure lwith-portiens broken away for clearness in illustration.

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the machine with the work supportingtable removed,

Figure 4 is -a central vertical-sectional view approximately on theplane of the line 4+4. of Figure 3 with-the work'table included.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure fihqwing the work table-tiltedrelativelyto: the band saw.

Figure 6 is a partialside elevational and partial sectional view'takenfrom a position at right angles to that shown in Figure 5.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the machine with the worktable included and with the saw shown in a difierent position from thatillustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view showing a mitre gauge.

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of theline 99 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 (Sheet 3) is a fragmentary schematic 2. perspective viewshowing the work tilted by the work table relatively-to thesaw blades,and

Figure 11 is a vertical sectional view approximately on the plane of theline l.l| l of Fig ure 10.

Specifically describing a machine embodying the invention, thecombined'band saw and-work support is shown as comprising a main frameorbench A having legs and a top 2 on which is-secured the base 3 ofthe'machine which is shown as approximately circularin plan.

Mounted on the base 3 is aband saw B that comprises a pedestal orstandard 4 that iscarrid by a base 5 (Figs. 4 and -9) which ishorizontally movable in any direction in. a horizontal plane on the bed3. As shown, the bed has a bottom plate 6, a circular upstanding wall'I- on said bottom plate and anannular top wall 8 that pro; jectsinwardly from the side wall I in spaced relation to the bottom plate 6.The base '5 of the band saw is of a diameter-slightly greaterthan thediameter of theopening 9 formed'by the inner perimeter of the top plate8, and said base 5 is guided by and between said base and top plates.Desirably ball bearings ll] are provided to facili tate movement of thebandsaw. 'I'he band saw also includesa goose-neck and saw guide N thatprojects from the-'pe'destaL'and another saw guide I2 that projectsupwardlyfromthe; base in spaced relation to the goose neck and a bandsaw I; of known construction is arranged to traverse a space between thegoose neck H and the uide arm [2. As shown, the band saw passes overpulleys I l in the pedestal, goose. neck, and base and is driven byabelt and pulley connection [8 from an electric motor l1 mounted on theside of the pedestal.

Th aw i e arm, llmaybeu od for-W11.- p rtin small Pie es of w rk in simle saw n operations, but is unessential in the support of large piecesof work.

A work supporting table Q is mounted on-the top of the bed 3v soas totilt aboutftwo horizontal axes that areperpendicular to each other. Asshown, thetablecomprisesatop or worksupport-i ing plate 18 which has acircular centralQo'pening |8a within which the band saw B is movable,and the plate I8 is mounted by stub shafts I9 in two horizontallyaligned bearings disposed at diametrically opposite points on a mountingring 20 which is in turn pivotally mounted in bearings 21 on the topplate 8 of the bed by shafts 22 whose axes are in horizontal alignmentwith each other and perpendicular to the axes of the shafts l9. Withthis construction it will be seen that the work suporting plate l8 maybe tilted both about the axes of the shaft 22 as shown by solid andbroken lines in Figure 6 and may also be tilted about the axes of theshafts I9 as shown by solid and broken lines in Figure 5. Any suitablemeans may be used for holding the plate l8 in adjusted positions, but Ihave shown clamping screws 23 in the bearings 2| and 24 of therespective shafts for clamping the shafts against rotation in thebearings.

Preferably graduated quadrants 25 (Fig. 6) and 26 (Fig. 1) are mountedrespectively on the bench A and on the under side of the plate l8, tocooperate with the respective pointers 21 and 28 on the correspondingshafts 22 and I9, for indicating the angles of adjustment of the plate.

Also, preferably, the table hasslidable auxiliary work suports 29 (Fig.7) that at will may be projected into the opening |8a in the worksupporting plate I8, to facilitate in the handling of special pieces ofwork. Suitable work clamps 30 are mounted on the work supporting plate|8 at various positions for firmly holding the work designated D)against movement on the top.

In operation of the machine, the work will be clamped on the worksupport plate l8 in proper relation to the saw blade l3, and ifnecessary the table will be tilted to the required angle and clamped inthe adjusted positions by the clamping screws 23. Then the motor of theband saw B will be started as by closing a switch, and the operator willgrip one or both of the handles 4a '(Figs. 4 and on the saw pedestal andpush or pull the saw into engagement with the work and in the directionrequired for making the desired out. It will be seen that the saw can bebodily rotated on the bed 3 throughout an arc of 360 and may also berotated about the axis of the base in alignment with which the saw I3 ispreferably located. Also the saw may be moved in straight lines or incomposite straight and curved lines. By tilting the table at the desiredangle, the cuts may be made obliquely to the plane of the work as shownin Figures and 11.

It may be desirable to have a positive mitre guide, and accordingly Ipropose to adjustably mount a guide arm 3| on the pedestal of the saw tocooperate with a guide channel 32 adjustably mounted on the bed 3. Asshown in Figures 8 and 9, the guide channel 32 nicely slidably receivesthe guide arm 3| and has a mounting arm 33 provided with a screw clamp34 for connecting the guide channel to a flange 35 on the top plate 8 ofthe bed. Suitable graduation marks 36 may be provided on said top platefor setting the guide channel in the desired position. One end of theguide arm 3| also has a clamp 31 similar to the clamp 34 for connectingthe arm to a flange 38 on the pedestal, and graduation marks 39 may beprovided on said flange for setting the uide arm.

In use, the arm and channel will be set at the desired angle and thenthe saw will be pulled by the operator so as to cause the guide arm 3|to slide in the channel 32, and this will result in the positive guidingof the saw blade in the desired direction.

Preferably means is provided to prevent the accumulation of saw dustaround the base 5 of the saw, and this may be accomplished by utilizinga split-circular boot or cover 40 of suitable flexible or elasticmaterial which encircles the lower portion of the pedestal, preferablyin a groove 4| as shown in Figure 9, and has its ends connected by aslide fastener 42 (Fig. 7) of any suitable construction to snugly holdthe cover in contact with the pedestal. The outer edge of the cover maybe separably attached to the top plate 8 of the bottom in any suitablemanner, for example by head and socket fasteners 43.

While I have shown and described the invention as embodied in certaindetails of construction, it should be understood that this is primarilyfor the purpose of illustrating the purpose of the invention and thatmany modifications and changes may be made in the construction of themachine within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A band saw comprising a horizontal bed, a frame having thereon a sawband and means for driving it, said frame also having a circular baseand said bed having an annular groove in which the marginal portions ofsaid base are slidable thereby providing for movement of said frame inany of a plurality of horizontal directions.

2. A band saw comprising a horizontal bed having a central opening, anannular undercut channel surrounding and facing into said opening, aframe having a base slidably fitted into said groove for horizontalmovement relatively to said bed, said frame also including a pedestalextending upwardly from said base through said annular opening andhaving a saw band and means for driving it mounted thereon, whereby saidframe is movable in any of a plurality of horizontal directions.

3. A band saw as defined in claim 2 with the addition of a worksupporting plate juxtaposed to said frame, and means mounting said platefor adjustment into oblique planes.

4. A band saw as defined in claim 2 with a flexible cover connectedbetween said frame and said bed and closing said central opening toprevent accumulation of saw dust in said channel.

ALFRED L. HOFFMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 547,260 Hinternesch Oct. 1, 1895822,056 Knox May 29, 1906 905,265 Wise Dec. 1, 1908 1,089,192 Erquhartet a1 Mar. 3, 1914 2,090,195 Grob Aug. 17, 1937 2,415,877 Hajek Feb. 18,1947 2,490,281 Rose Dec. 6, 1949

